Ernest Polack
Lieutenant Ernest Emanuel Polack was an English officer of the British Army who died during the First World War. He was born on 25 February 1893, in Clifton, the youngest son of Joseph and Sophia Polack (née Isaac), of Rochester and Liverpool, respectively. His father was the headmaster of Jewish House at Clifton College. Polack was educated at Clifton and St John's College, where he earned a scholarship in Semitic languages. He was commissioned in August 1914, in the 4th Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment, and went with it to the Western Front in April.The Times (41227), p. 6: "Fallen Soldiers". 24 July 1916. In January 1916, Polack led a patrol of "D" Company on a successful night raid to capture a German flag which had been planted in front of trenches at Hebuterne.Newspaper clipping, glosters.org.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2015. Polack died on 17 July 1916, in his battalion's attack on Ovillers during the Somme Offensive. His battalion had started its advance on the 16th, against trenches surrounding the village, and encountered heavy fire that 'made it impossible to either advance or withdraw'.Westlake, Ray (2009), Tracing British Battalions on the Somme, p. 134. An older brother, Benjamin, had died three months earlier, in Mesopotamia. Their surviving brother, Albert Isaac, succeeded to the position of headmaster at Clifton's Jewish House in 1928. Polack is buried in Lonsdale Cemetery, Authuille. After the war, a letter written by Polack to his parents was published in the book War Letters of Fallen Englishmen. It reads: My dear Mother & Father, This is not an easy letter to write, and I have long refrained from writing it; but now that the Advance seems more than a remote possibility, and is in fact due to start to-morrow, I had better realise at once that I may not get through it. In fact, I consider it very unlikely that I shall get through it whole. Death has no terrors for me in itself, for (like Cleopatra) “I have immortal longings in me.” The prospect of pain naturally appals me somewhat, and I am taking morphia in with me to battle. We are in Corps Reserve behind Hebuterne, and, should all go well, will not be called upon until the second night and then shall probably be resisting a German counter-attack somewhere near Beaumont-Hamel. But our services may be required at any moment. I have little to leave except my Love and Gratitude…. For the rest - “If ‘tis not now, 'twill be to come.” Our cause is a good one and I believe I am doing right in fighting. To you - Mother and Father - I owe all. The thought of you two - and of my brothers - will inspire me to the end. I often wish Albert was with me and miss him dreadfully. Good-bye! “If we shall meet again, why then we’ll smile; If not - why then this parting was well made.” (Julius Caesar). The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. (written in Hebrew) Your loving son, Ernest I will ask Mr. Ramsay (our Chaplain) to send you this if I fall.Housman, Laurence (1930), War Letters of Fallen Englishmen, p. 216. Notes References *Ancestry.co.uk. *Polack, Ernest Emanuel, cwgc.org. Retrieved 17 July 2015. Category:1893 births Category:1916 deaths Category:British military personnel Category:British Army Category:British people of Jewish descent Category:Buried in France Category:Lieutenants